The Sinclair Series Book #1: Tragedy Of Love

Chapter Twenty Two: Playing House

Vivi's POV
Day two of playing house. Everyone is still sane. No one has lost their mind just yet. Henrik does all the cooking and cleaning. I don't think Theo even knows how to cook or clean anything. He's often lost in his phone texting away. I can't help but observe him with amazement. He's not the perfect son but his flaws are beautiful. He's clueless about the domestics that make a home but he has the most infectious laughter. Whoever he is talking to is lifting up his spirit. But just because he's laughing, doesn't mean the excitement is extended to us. It is limited to the person on the other end of his phone. All Henrik and I get is typical bratty behavior where he ignores us when we ask him something but he can afford to be rude when he pleases. In reprimanding him we are a team. He calls it 'ganging up on him.' I roll my eyes every time he accuses us of it. He must b replaying his teenage years for us.

Things with Henrik aren't bad. He's really mellowed down from the intense man he used to be. Life has changed him for the better. Next to him, I'm the bad guy. He's easier to talk to, less intimidating and somewhat comfortable to be around. He is not correcting everything I do anymore. He has even become a good listener. Why wasn't he like this when we were younger?

Choosing a little house facing the beautiful city of Florence was a good idea. The scene distracts us from picking on each other. We are crammed up together and it's easy to start little fires that will burn us all if left unchecked. We are all cut from the same cloth after all although Henrik is the adult in this family.

Theo wanted privacy and he took the bedroom. Henrik was against it. He wanted me to have the bedroom. He chose to  sleep on the hard floor with only a mat beneath him. I won't judge him because Zeke used to do that whenever he got tired of the bed. I sleep on the lumpy sofa with guaranteed back cramps in the morning.

The first night was pretty much like this one. Insomnia. I'm nervous about falling asleep. I listen to all the little sounds in the still of the night waiting for some violent break in that will sound the alarm for my death. Henrik sleeps rather well.

I dropped my arm and poked him. He caught it immediately. "It's just me. Are you asleep?"

He took a moment to respond. "Not anymore. What do you need?"

"Theo isn't back."

"He's a grown man. He's fine."

"Who do you think he texts?"

"Your son is a flirt." He answered. "It could be all  the female population of France. He's back to being a bachelor so expect much of that. Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it."

"What do you know about his ex?"

"Are you eyeing her too?" I teased him.

"No!"

"It's not a bad thing! She's gorgeous!" I laughed.

"And young enough to be my daughter. She's not the age bracket I'm aiming for. I don't want to be seventy and competing with men half my age." He laughed as well.

"She's a good person. Did something happen?"

"Theo started a company... Cruise de Marina. He used family money for that project so it's only fitting that the company belongs to the Sinclair group of companies, right?"

"Well... It's blurry if you ask me because he gave it to her as a wedding gift. She made it what it is today. Theo only gave her the foundation. She made it what it is so it's hers. Not yours or Theo's." I told him firmly. "On the issue of property, what's your take on a massive amount of land and a house in the middle of it?"

"Is that the question? It's confusing."

"When Marianna's father passed away, he left her the house. The villa is in the middle of the Balotelli Vineyard. He left Nick the Winery and the Vineyard. Who owns the house? Really, who owns the house?"